Virtually Unpredictable
by Maybeawriter
Summary: When an evil plan backfires horribly, Megamind, Metro Man and Roxanne Ritchi find themselves trapped in a video game. In this virtual world, the only way out is to win. Can they put up with each other for the sake of survival? Or will it be "Game Over" for all of them? (Possibly an AU. Will probably involve crossovers later on.)
1. Chapter One: Vengeance and Video Games

** Author's Note: I want to send a huge shout-out to my awesome Beta Reader, LionshadeSC, who was a massive helper and personal cheerleader during the long hard process of ironing out these first two chapters. You're awesome!**

** (Also, to those following my 50-theme challenge, I haven't given up on it by any means, so no worries.)**

** I hope you enjoy reading! If so, reviews do a world of good for my self-esteem. :)**

**EDIT:**** The gorgeous cover picture was made for me by the incredibly talented Eleathyra, and she gave me her express permission to use it as the cover. Thank you so, so much, Eleathyra! (You can see it in it's full awesomeness on her ****deviantArt** page, just search her name.)  


* * *

Virtually Unpredictable

Chapter One: Vengeance and Video Games

Roxanne woke up in the usual chair, in a typical evil lair, but without the usual bag over her head. She still had the smell of old potatoes in her nose, though, which meant it had only been removed a few moments ago. She often wished they would just use a plain, non-smelly blindfold.

"Ah, Miss Ritchi…" Megamind spun his chair to face her, smiling evilly. "Once again you find yourself at my mercy!"

She gave him a slightly amused smirk. "Hello Megamind. This isn't the usual kidnapping day. You know Mondays are busy at the office, right?"

He paused. "Well, yes, but unfortunately for you, this particular genius plot is time-sensitive."

She gave a resigned little eye roll. "I see. So, what is the 'horrible death trap' this time?"

"Funny you should ask, Miss Ritchi. Because…"

Minion interrupted him. "Uh, Sir? I'm getting that error code again."

Megamind got up with an annoyed frown. "I thought for certain that would fix it. Did you try- Excuse me, Miss Ritchi." He shot her an apologetic look. "Did you try transferring that set of files to the fifth server?

"Yes, about ten minutes ago," Minion said while typing quickly. "I don't think memory is the issue here. Maybe the program itself has a glitch."

"Hmm… Let me try something." Megamind sat at another keyboard and started typing at a pace that would have made a human secretary envious.

Roxanne was left sitting there, becoming more and more irritated. "Couldn't you have done this stuff _before_ you kidnapped me?"

Megamind didn't take his eyes off the screen. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience, Miss Ritchi. But frankly, evil does not adjust its _shedual_ to fit the whims of the captive."

"You mean 'schedule.'" she corrected.

"That's what I said." There were a few more seconds of frantic typing. "There. Try it now, Minion."

Minion hit a few buttons. "I think you did it, Sir! It's booting up perfectly."

"You're sure, now?" Megamind asked as he stood up.

"It's working great as far as I can tell." Minion lowered his voice. "Of course, there's always that risk we discussed…"

Megamind waved his protests away. "Yes yes, I'm aware of that, Minion. The odds of something like that happening are insignificant. This plan is foolproof!"

"You say that about every plan..." Minion muttered, although Megamind either didn't hear him or just ignored him.

Megamind turned his attention back to Roxanne. "As I was saying… What was I saying?"

"You were still on the empty threat, and I was about to remark on the cheesiness of said threat." Roxanne said matter-of-factly.

Megamind got a smug look that made her feel a bit uneasy. "Ah, but that's where you're wrong, Miss Ritchi. You see, my head is big for a reason. I've noticed that you don't seem to be frightened for your life. I can't imagine why not, but I digress."

He sat in his chair and spun away from her, still talking. "So I thought to myself, if she doesn't fear death, how could I get her to take me seriously? There must be something she values greatly, that I can threaten to take away."

"That," he said, spinning quickly towards her, "is when I had an epiphany!"

Roxanne gave him an irritated look. "You're making me dizzy with that chair."

His smirk grew as he turned away again. "You put a lot of time and effort into your reports for work, don't you?"

She raised an eyebrow, wondering where he was going with this. "So?"

He turned back to her. "And you keep those reports on your laptop, don't you. Don't look so surprised; you honestly think your computer's flimsy firewall could keep out someone like me, with unlimited time and intelligence?"

She frowned. "If you have a point, Megamind, I suggest you make it."

"Now, wouldn't it just be too tragic if someone were to press THIS," he gestured grandly to a large red button, "and delete all your precious files?!"

Her jaw dropped. "You're bluffing."

He grinned, pleased to have the upper hand for once. "Oh, am I? Do you _really_ want to test that theory?"

Roxanne looked at the button, then at Megamind, taking note of the incredibly mischievous look in his eyes.

She'd known for a long time he would never actually hurt her, but something like this… It was sneaky, it was underhanded, but it was ultimately harmless. It was psychological warfare at it's most annoying.

She rolled her eyes, frustrated. "Call Metro Man."

Megamind couldn't help snickering as he turned to his control panel. "I had a feeling you'd say that."

"Shut up," she growled.

About two minutes later, Metro Man appeared on the screen as Megamind laughed evilly to announce his presence.

Metro Man turned to look at the projection. "Megamind."

"Greetings, Metro Man!" Megamind's voice boomed across the city. "Are you wearing your 'quaking in terror' boots today? Because you're going to need them!"

Metro Man noticed his adversary didn't seem able to wipe that ecstatic grin off his face. How odd. Maybe today was going to be a nice break from routine.

"The only thing that'll be quaking anytime soon is the foundation of your evil plan!" he said confidently.

"Ah, but I hired an architect! Isn't that right, Miss Ritchi?"

Roxanne's image appeared next to Megamind's.

Metro Man gasped melodramatically. "Roxie!"

Roxanne inwardly cringed at the nickname. She hated when people called her that.

"Didn't you have something you wanted to tell Metro Man, Miss Ritchi?" Megamind could hardly contain himself. This was going perfectly.

Roxanne gave an elaborate sigh. "Help, Metro Man," She deadpanned. "The evil, brilliant, and," she made a face, "devilishly handsome Megamind is holding me captive." She looked disgusted. "Ugh, I can't believe what I'm saying…"

"Now now, Miss Ritchi." Megamind smirked. "Wouldn't want me to press that red button, now would you?"

Roxanne shot him a glare that would have sent chills up the spine of a lesser villain. As far as Megamind was concerned, it was a warped kind of compliment that he was all-too-happy to accept.

"Release that defenseless girl at once, you evildoer!" Metro Man cried.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, old friend." Megamind laughed. "But in the spirit of good sportsmanship, I'll give you a warning. Make sure you come in through the ceiling!"

The projection vanished and Metro Man took off. Using his super-hearing, he quickly located the warehouse. Of course, if Megamind wanted him to come through the ceiling, then it had to be a trap. So Metro Man crashed in through the front door instead. An instant later, he found himself trapped in a cage.

Megamind walked out of the shadows. "Didn't I tell you to come in through the ceiling?" He smirked.

Actually, the ceiling had been booby-trapped as well, on the off-chance that Metro Man had actually seen through his reverse psychology. The fact that he didn't was incredibly satisfying. Megamind had to take whatever small victories he could get; so just being smarter than Wayne was gratifying in and of itself.

"You actually expect this cage to hold me for long, Megamind?" Metro Man scoffed.

"Well, it _is_ made of my own patented super-strong titanium alloy," Megamind mused, "which we both know is the only metal on Earth that can stand up to your strength for any length of time."

"We've seen him break out of that stuff in less than a minute," Roxanne said in exasperation. "_This_ is the big plan you had to hold my job hostage for?"

"Oh ye of little faith," Megamind gave her that ominously smug look, "it only needs to hold Metro Man a few seconds. Just long enough for him to be hit by this!"

He hit a button, which caused two large Tesla coil-looking things to rise out of the floor.

"Megamind, what are you up to?" Metro Man refused to become worried. He'd escaped from much tougher traps than this.

"First, my dear nemesis, a question," Megamind struggled to keep from snickering. "Do you play video games?"

"Video Games?" Metro Man was stunned. "Of course not! I'm too busy saving the world from villains like you to waste time on video games!"

"No? Well, that is too bad, isn't it?" Megamind said casually. "It might have saved your life. Oh well, it's too late for that, I suppose." He shot his rival an oddly spiteful glare. "You've always been rather inept at the video game that is life, haven't you?"

"Not really, I've never once been sent back to level one." Metro Man said grandly. "_You,_ on the other hand…"

"Ah, but you forget, Metro Man," Megamind pointed at him dramatically, "even if I do get sent back to the prison level, I get to keep all the experience points I earned!"

"Those experience points are useless against the Level Boss of Justice!"

"But your Level Boss of Justice can be defeated by the power-up of Ultimate Evil!" Megamind cried.

"Yeah, but that power-up takes _way_ more experience points than you've earned." Metro Man said dryly.

Megamind growled. "And I suppose _you_ have enough, noob? You said it yourself, you're no gamer."

"That's because I have a life."

"Why you insolent…"

Roxanne looked over at Minion. "They're really going at it today, aren't they?"

"Well, Sir _is_ very confident about today's plan." Minion shrugged.

"...The Overfilled Gelatin Mold of Wickedness!" Megamind was exclaiming.

"The Rain of Righteousness will melt your Gelatin of Wickedness!" Metro Man countered.

"…How do you feel about it, Minion?" Roxanne asked.

Minion hesitated. "I'm not really at liberty to talk about it."

He didn't look very confident. Roxanne wondered if she should be nervous. After all, she was within the blast radius should something blow up.

Meanwhile, Megamind was seething with rage. "I've had just about enough of you and your arrogance, Metro Man!"

"Look who's talking," his adversary smirked.

"You- That's IT!" He shouted. "Prepare yourself, Metro Man, for your defeat at my villainous hands!"

Megamind pressed a button, causing sparks to fly from the Tesla coils. Metro Man cursed himself for being so distracted by Megamind that he'd made no attempt to escape. The bars bent under his superhuman strength, but not quickly enough.

The sparks started to grow bigger and brighter. The coils suddenly flashed brightly, sending out a laser that scanned the room and its occupants. Then a series of blue beams shot out and hit the three humanoids present, ignoring Minion altogether.

Megamind's eyes shot wide open in panic as he realized something was going very, very wrong.

"No! Nonononono!" He cried, pressing the button several times desperately.

The light grew blinding, forcing them to shut their eyes against it. Hero, villain and captive alike felt a painful tingling sensation, and then nothing.


	2. Chapter Two: Confusion and Compromise

Virtually Unpredictable

Chapter Two: Confusion and Compromise

Megamind gave a small groan as his eyes fluttered open. Everything felt… weird. Not bad, necessarily, but different. He found to his surprise that his clothes had been changed to a black top and leggings made of a tough but flexible fabric. There was a black cloak draped over his shoulders in place of his cape. He felt a slight stiffness about his torso. He pulled one of his sleeves up a bit to reveal a flash of steel. Yes, he was wearing a thin suit of chain mail under his clothes. Good. That might keep him alive here.

Looking around, he found himself at the edge of a forest clearing. He was stunned by how realistic everything looked and felt. He could even smell the grass and hear the wind in the leaves.

He studied his hand for a moment. It seemed totally normal on the outside, but felt somehow lighter. His whole body felt lighter.

The scientist in him would have been content to sit there and ponder the strange realness of this world forever, but the practical side of his mind knew he had to get out of here as soon as possible.

Remarkably, he still had his watch. He doubted the disguise function would work here, but hopefully he could still use the radio.

"Minion? Can you hear me?" he shook his wrist, willing the signal to reach the 'real' world.

"_Sir?_" came Minion's alarmed voice. "_Where are you? Are you all right_?"

"I'm fine, Minion, but you wouldn't believe how lifelike it is in here!" Megamind couldn't keep the excitement out of his voice. "I don't know how, but the graphics, Minion! They're gorgeous! You should see it, it's just unbelievable!"

"_Sir!_" Minion scolded. "_Do you have any idea how much danger you're in?! You need to focus!_"

"I know, you're right," he took a deep breath. "I'll find Miss Ritchi, you try and get us out."

"_Don't forget Metro Man._"

"But Minion…" he whined.

"_No buts, Sir. You can defeat him some other day. Right now he's at a severe disadvantage. It'd be unsporting to try and destroy him._"

Minion was right, of course. Megamind knew the difference between being evil and being a coward. Easy as it might be to eliminate Metro Man now, it would be cheating.

And Megamind was no cheater.

"Oh all right," he said. "But I'm not about to be civil to him!"

Megamind glanced around for his standard issue weapon. He should have had one the moment he appeared in this world. His de-gun wouldn't have made the jump.

Sure enough, there was a sword and scabbard lying in the grass a few feet away.

He picked up the blade and looked it over. Then he cleared his throat and said in a clear voice, "Computer. Weapon stats."

A series of transparent numbers appeared in the air in front of him. Good, at least the voice recognition still worked. He studied the numbers for a moment. This sword was rather pitiful, but it would do until he found something better. The numbers vanished automatically after thirty seconds.

Megamind buckled the scabbard onto his belt and walked carefully into the clearing, green eyes scanning the scene for any threats.

There are downsides to having a brain like Megamind's. Even as he tried to suppress the thoughts, he couldn't help remembering the statistics of all the monsters in this area.

_Gray Wolves, attack 10, armor 4, hunt in packs… Dark Elves, attack 14, armor 8, set up ambushes in clearings… Just like this one_…

He jumped at a tiny sound in the undergrowth. _ Lizard Men,_ _attack 20- Stop it!_

There, on the other side of the clearing. Was that… Yes, it looked like Roxanne. She was lying on her stomach and not moving. That got him worried. He rushed to her side without another thought.

She was breathing, much to his relief, she was just unconscious from the transfer. Megamind stared at her helplessly for a few seconds. What was he supposed to do? Wake her up? She'd probably object. But he couldn't just leave her here.

* * *

Roxanne woke with a gasp. As she sat up, the only thing that came to mind were some disconnected thoughts about where on earth she was and the fact that her clothes were different. She was wearing a short tunic and a pair of leggings, with something slung over her back. A quiver full of arrows, she realized.

Looking around only made her more confused. She was in a forest with no idea how she got there. And there was Megamind a few feet away.

He turned around. "Ah, Miss Ritchi, you're awake!"

"Megamind, what did you do?" she shot him an accusatory glare.

He tried not to cringe at her tone. He should have expected this. "Um… Look, let's go find Metro Man and I'll explain to both of you. Here, I think this is yours." He tossed her a bow.

She stared at it, and suddenly noticed the scabbard at Megamind's side. "No, I want answers, Megamind. Are we in danger?"

"If I say yes, will you stop talking so loud?" he sounded oddly serious. He had an air of vigilance about him that answered her question for her.

Suddenly, she heard the sound that Megamind had been listening to. Something large was lumbering towards them.

Megamind instinctively tensed and moved protectively in front of Roxanne. She would normally have protested, but truth be told, she was too confused and scared to notice.

The noise came closer, getting louder and rougher. A branch was pushed back, and the pair beheld…

An amour-clad and rather dazed-looking Metro Man.

Roxanne gave a relieved sigh. "Oh, it's you Wayne. Thank goodness."

Megamind let his shoulders drop slightly, but he didn't fully relax.

"Megamind, what have you done?" the hero asked with a frown.

"Why does everybody automatically assume that it's my fault?" Megamind cried, looking offended.

Roxanne narrowed her eyes at him. "Well, isn't it?"

He sighed. "Okay, fine, so it's my fault. This world," he gestured to the forest, "is actually a video game that Minion and I created."

"What?!" his reluctant companions shouted in unison.

"I didn't plan on Miss Ritchi and myself entering the program. It was only meant to capture and destroy Metro Man." He couldn't help giving Roxanne a rather guilty look.

"How do you expect to get out of here, then?" Metro Man glared at him. "I'm not going to be of much help, since I apparently don't have my powers in here!"

Megamind's eyebrows shot up in genuine surprise. "It worked?"

His adversary rolled his eyes, a rare show of exasperation. "Megamind, just get us out of here, all right?"

Megamind gave a sheepish laugh. "Um, yeah, that's just the thing… The only way out is to win the game."

"So let me get this straight," Roxanne fumed. "You mean to tell me we're trapped in here? For how long? I've got a very important meeting at three! This is why we decided there would be no evil plans on Mondays!"

"Well excuse me, Miss Ritchi," he scowled. "I'm sorry to be interrupting your oh-so-important life with my nonsense, but last I checked, I'm the villain here. If anybody is running this show, it's me!"

"Oh, you run the show, all right." Roxanne said sarcastically. "You'll run it right into the ground if we let you."

"I…" Megamind started to say something witty, then suddenly went stiff.

"Megamind?" Roxanne stepped towards him, but he held up a hand motioning her to stay put.

A few seconds later, there was a low growl in the underbrush. Megamind drew his sword and approached it slowly.

Something huge and furry leaped out at him with a roar. Only his lightning reflexes kept him from receiving a serious blow to the chest. The thing turned on him and snarled. It might have been humanoid, but it was too shaggy to really tell.

It lunged at Megamind, who danced out of the way and swung his sword quickly down. It went _through_ the creature as if it were made of butter. There was no blood to be seen, though, and the beast somehow stayed completely intact. Instead it flashed and gave a pained roar before lunging at the villain with its claws. Megamind jumped just out of reach and sliced through it again. The thing gave a high-pitched shriek and fell over, fading away a few seconds later.

Megamind turned, breathing hard, and saw the stunned looks on his companions' faces. In any other situation, he would have given them a smug grin and started boasting about his awesomeness, but right now the gears were turning in his considerable brain.

He looked at them both very seriously. "Ok, here's the deal. Much as it pains me to say it, we're going to need to work together if we're to have any hope of making it out of this alive. That werewolf isn't the end. Frankly, I'm a little concerned that we encountered it this early. We must be playing on Expert mode. Fantastic."

Metro Man cleared his throat. "So, let me get this straight. You want me to trust my life to the man who's been trying to kill me since we were seven."

Megamind's voice was cold and practical as he said calmly, "If I wanted you dead, I would have left you to the werewolf." He started walking away.

"We're not actually going to go with him, right?" Metro Man asked Roxanne incredulously.

"Unless you have a better plan." She slid her bow onto her shoulder and started after Megamind. Metro Man reluctantly followed her. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that Megamind's plans always blew up in his face, but Wayne had a very bad feeling about this.


	3. Chapter Three: Anger and Arguments

**Author's Note: First off, I want to thank all of you so, so much for all the amazing reviews and favorites and follows! I didn't have time to reply to everyone individually, so I just want to say thank you to everyone! It means the world to me!**

**I want to apologize for taking so long. I had a serious bout of writer's block about half-way through.**

******Also, thanks to LionshadeSC for beta-reading, and also a shoutout to my sister who came up with the chapter name.**

******(Oh, and just because I haven't said it yet, I don't own Megamind or any of the characters.)**

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Virtually Unpredictable

Chapter Three: Anger and Arguments

Megamind led them through the deceptively beautiful forest, watching and listening for any unexpected dangers. Roxanne followed him closely, praying he knew where he was going.

Wayne lagged a bit behind them, loath to trust Megamind, but left with few other options. He kept jumping at every little noise, expecting another werewolf to leap out and eat him. He heard a particularly loud noise and froze. Several tense seconds passed. When nothing happened, he looked around and realized he'd lost sight of his companions.

"Roxie?" he called out, glancing around nervously. "...Megamind?"

He hated not having his powers. His senses felt muffled, which was an added layer to his confusion. It was especially annoying that Megamind's hearing was now sharper than his.

In real life, he could easily have found them with his x-ray vision, or his super-hearing. Heck, if this was real life, he could just fly up and spot them easily from above. That was the worst part, if he was honest. He wasn't used to feeling the weight of his giant muscles, and having to manually lug that weight around. Now he had to exert effort simply to move. He couldn't remember the last time he had exerted effort to do something.

Wayne suddenly heard a branch snap nearby. Starting to panic, he backed up against a tree. Correction, this was the worst part. He was completely defenseless, his sword hanging uselessly at his side. He wasn't an expert fencer like Megamind was, and he had no clue what to do with the blade.

Metro Man had never known fear. He had felt concern, of course. Concern that Roxanne or his adoptive parents could be hurt by some vengeful evildoer, or that he would accidentally injure someone with his strength. But he'd never felt actual fear for his life before. It was a strange, horrible feeling, and he hated it.

There was another sound in the bushes, a reptilian growl. Wayne froze, his heart beating at a rate he hadn't been aware it could reach. He felt vulnerable, fragile. Thoughts he'd never had to think started racing through his head. Thoughts of imminent pain, and even death. Possibilities he'd never had to consider before.

Then this... _thing_ came out of the bushes. It looked like it might once, in another life, have been human. Now, though, it was anything but. Its' skin was made up of dark green scales, and it had the head of a lizard. Crouching low to the ground, a sharp-looking spear clutched in its claws, it slowly approached Wayne. Just when he thought the beast couldn't be any more terrifying, it gave a horrific screech that made the blood run cold in his veins.

He was out of options. So Metro Man, Hero of Metro City, The Man of Titanium himself, did the only thing he could do.

He turned his head, squeezed his eyes shut, and gave the loudest, most girlish scream he could muster.

* * *

Megamind and Roxanne kept to the path, pausing only when they reached a river.

"Ok," Megamind said, "we can rest here for a minute." He looked around. "Where's that brainless boyfriend of yours?" he asked Roxanne.

She rolled her eyes but, as usual, didn't bother correcting him on the subject of their relationship. "Wayne, would you catch up already?" she called.

No response.

"Wayne?" Megamind called out, to no avail. "Great," he growled under his breath, "if that idiot's gotten himself lost..."

Then they both heard a very frightened, high-pitched scream.

* * *

Wayne pressed himself even closer to the tree, too scared even to open his eyes.

This wasn't exactly how he'd pictured himself leaving the world. Not that he'd given it much thought. To be perfectly honest, he'd pictured Megamind finally discovering his weakness or just getting lucky. Who would have thought his weakness would turn out to be a video game? He might have laughed at the thought, if he weren't petrified with fear.

Because the freaky lizard-thing had friends. Five? Six? It was hard to tell without looking. Those horrible sounds they made assaulted him from all directions.

Wayne couldn't remember his people's religion, so he fell back on the God his adoptive parents worshiped, and prayed with everything he had.

Suddenly, he heard a new sound. A battle cry. The reptilian screeches rose in number and volume, then slowly faded, until there was silence. Then, and only then, Wayne managed to open his eyes.

Megamind was standing there, breathing heavily with his sword still drawn. Roxanne stood at the edge of the clearing with her bow, staring at Megamind with an expression between awe and mild fear.

Still panting, Megamind turned his burning green eyes on Wayne. "What was that?!" he asked, frustration clear in his tone.

Metro Man purposely went for the more obvious answer. "I- I don't know, they had these green scales and-"

"Not the Lizard Men," Megamind snapped, "_you!_ That thing hanging at your side is called a sword, hero!"

Wayne looked at the ground sheepishly. "...There's something I should have mentioned before this."

"Like what?" Roxanne said, surprisingly angry herself.

The hero stared at them both, shocked and more than a little nervous. He'd never seen either of them this mad before, and the knowledge that their fury was directed at him was not exactly comforting.

"I..." he started, scratching the back of his head, "I believe in nonviolence."

Megamind narrowed his eyes in contempt. "Come again?" he said darkly.

Wayne knew that tone; it was Megamind's 'calm before the storm' voice. The one he saved for when he was _really_ mad.

"I, well," he continued awkwardly, "I took an oath. I can't hurt anyone or anything."

"But you destroy Megamind's robots like it's nothing!" Roxanne pointed out.

"That's different," Metro Man protested, "those are just machines, these are like animals or even primitive humans!"

Megamind's anger rose another notch at this. To have his inventions, most of which were given names and had personalities and he loved like his own children, to have this imbecile call them 'just machines' sent his blood boiling.

"So," Megamind began, forcing himself to say calm, "so that arm you broke when we were kids?"

"That was an accident," Wayne insisted.

Megamind gave a bitter laugh. "Accident?! Oh sure, so it was a mere coincidence that I had just accused the teacher of playing favorites, and you just_ happened_ to choose that exact moment to 'accidentally' beat me up?"

Roxanne looked at Wayne, starting to see him in a whole new light. "You broke his arm?"

Metro Man floundered desperately for words. "No, look, it wasn't my fault! We were just kids!"

"I don't buy that for a second, Wayne," Megamind said, a particularly hard note in his voice. "You can't seriously look me in the eye and tell me you didn't know your own strength. That you didn't know you were capable of hurting someone."

Wayne was still trying to think of a response when they heard a voice.

"_Sir? Sir, are you still there?!_" Minion sounded alarmed.

Megamind felt the edge of his mouth turn up in a half-smile. The interruption was more than welcome.

"We are _not_ done with this conversation," he glared at Wayne, who gave a nervous grin, before answering Minion. "Yes, Minion, I'm all right. I'm here with Miss Ritchi and Metro Man. We're all unhurt." That was a lie. He was well aware of the small gash in his leg. It stung a bit, but he didn't want anyone to know. "Any progress on your end?"

"_Um... Well, Sir, I've got good news and bad news._"

"Give me the bad news," he said without hesitation. He failed to see how things could get any worse.

Minion's sigh was audible. "_I've tried everything I can think of to get you out of there, but nothing's worked._"

Megamind's shoulders slumped. He'd been counting on Minion finding some forgotten failsafe and getting them out.

"Nevermind, Minion," he said sincerely, "you did your best. We'll just have to win the game. Hey, how far are we from the nearest town?"

"_Let me check..._" Minion started typing.

In the following awkward silence, Metro Man turned to Roxanne. "Look, Roxy, I don't understand why you're angry with me. You're the one who always said I needed to mind my strength."

"But this isn't Metro City, Wayne," Roxanne said severely, "this is a life or death situation. You don't _have_ your strength, and even if you did, these enemies aren't even real! They don't feel pain, and you don't need to feel guilty about killing them! So just GET OVER YOURSELF!" she shouted.

Megamind turned around and stared at her in shock as Wayne took an involuntary step back, blinking in hurt and confusion. She just crossed her arms and stubbornly looked away from them.

Roxanne never raised her voice. Ever. The fact that she had yelled at Metro Man, of all people? Megamind had to wonder. What if her and Wayne's relationship wasn't as perfect as the newspapers and tabloids made it out to be? What if they were, in reality, on the verge of breaking up?

The thought gave him mixed emotions. This could be a huge problem for him, if he couldn't use Roxanne as bait anymore. How else was he supposed to lure Metro Man to his doom?

But, on the other hand, if Roxanne was... single...

No, he cut that line of thought off immediately, snuffing out the annoying little spark of hope that had kindled itself in his chest.

He turned his attention back to the watch. "Minion?"

"_Just a second, Sir._"

A few more seconds passed.

"_Ah ha!_" Minion said triumphantly, "_Sorry about the wait, Sir, it took me a minute to find your coordinates. What are you doing that far off the path, anyway?_"

Megamind gave a frustrated sigh. "We suffered a minor setback, thanks to certain people..." he shot Metro Man a glare.

"Ok, look, I'm _sorry_ I almost died, okay?" Wayne cried, exasperated. "You all happy now?"

Roxanne didn't acknowledge the statement except to growl under her breath. Megamind just turned back to the watch.

There was a pause on Minion's part. "_Sir..._" he said with obvious worry in his voice, "_Sir, it says here you only have 95 hitpoints out of 100. You said..._"

"I know," Megamind said softly, wishing the others couldn't hear this. "I... didn't want to scare you."

"_What happened?!_" Minion cried.

"Oh, well," he said bitterly, "Mr. _Hero_ over here couldn't bring himself to slay a couple of _virtual_ Lizard Men, so I had to swoop in and _save_ his sorry butt! That's all!"

"What is it with you people?!" Wayne threw his hands up in frustration.

It was at this point that Megamind turned and realized that Roxanne was staring at him. He instinctively shifted to hide the injury, minor as it was. He hadn't wanted her to know about it, but he didn't detect any pity in her expression. She looked surprised, and maybe just a little impressed.

He wasn't quite sure how he felt about that. He wanted to impress her with his villainy, not this borderline heroism.

He tried to ignore her. "I'll be fine, Minion," he said reassuringly. "Where _is_ the town?"

"_Oh, Tolbroke is directly to the northeast. You should get there in about ten minutes, assuming you don't meet many enemies._"

"Thank you, Minion. Over and out." Megamind turned. "Alright, you heard the fish. Let's get moving."

As they walked, Roxanne tried to process her feelings. She was bitterly disappointed in Wayne for not rising to the occasion, but she was amazed to find that Megamind _had_. The way he'd fought those Lizard Men, it was as if he'd battled monsters his entire life. It was almost beautiful, in a way, watching his skilled and precise movements. And it was also, on some level, a little frightening. To see Megamind, of all people, suddenly revealing himself to be such an adept fighter... She sensed, somehow, that it wasn't an ability given to him by the game. It was just him. That was kind of alarming, and yet... Some small part of her, a usually stifled and ignored part, found it incredibly attractive. She immediately buried the idea. It was just... wrong. Wrong on so many levels.

...Wasn't it?

* * *

Though a combination of stealth and dumb luck, they made it to Tolbroke without any problems.

Megamind looked around, his inner geek becoming downright giddy over seeing his carefully designed and scripted buildings looking so realistic, not to mention Minion's townspeople and props. He led them to a large wood building, one of the few with a solid roof instead of thatch. A sign hung above the door.

"'The Prancing Horse?'" Roxanne read, raising an eyebrow at Megamind. "Do I detect a Tolkien reference?"

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about, Miss Ritchi," he said defensively while he pulled the hood of his cloak over his head.

The reference had been completely intentional, but he didn't want to admit it. Most villains don't waste their time reading fantasy. The fact that he could read a 500-page book in an hour made no difference.

"Alright," he said seriously, "hopefully everyone in there will follow their programing and not bother us. But just in case, stay calm. Act cool, like you walk into medieval taverns all the time. Don't talk too loudly."

Wayne looked nervous. "Do you really think it's an issue?"

Megamind hesitated, his hand on the doorknob. He didn't think it would be. When playing the game from the outside, the villagers didn't even notice you unless you wanted to buy something. But then again, the monsters had all acted more realistically than their programing allowed for.

"I don't know," he admitted, "but I don't want to take any chances." He pulled the hood forward to hide part of his face before entering the tavern.

Roxanne exchanged anxious looks with Wayne.

Usually, Megamind was the only one who really knew what was going on. He was the one who set the stage and supplied the conflict. He was in full control of the situation, while they simply reacted.

Megamind's uncertainty was very unnerving. It meant that _no one_ had control of the situation.


End file.
